Expression mechanism for mechanical pianos



C. CONTAL AND E. REQUILLART. EXPRESSlON MECHANISM FOR MECHANICAL PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1915. 1 ,3540,01 9. Patented May 11, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- C. CONTAL AND E. REQUILLART.

EXPRESSION MECHANISM FOR MECHANICAL PIANOS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1915.

Patented May 11,1920

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ram E23 UNITED STATES PATENT orruon.

CAMILLE GON'IAL, F SEE-CLOUD, AND EDOUARD REQUILLART, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

nxrnnssron MECHANISM roa MECHANICAL rIANos.

Application filed May 22,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CAMILLE CONTAL,engineer, of 6 Avenue 'Magenta, of St.- Cloud, Seine Department, andEDOUARD Ricourrnanr, engineer, of 39 Rue Lemours, of Paris, in theRepublic of France, and citizens. of the Republic of France, haveinvented certain new and useful Expression Mechanism for MechanicalPianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for an object to pro vide a device whereby expressionmay be produced in mechanical pianos.

A further object is to provide expression producing mechanism so fittedas to allow a performer to regulate at will the intensity of thedifferentnotes which may be played simultaneously, both in the trebleand in the bass, so that he may at any moment increase or decrease'thesound of either a single note or a group of single notes comprised in agiven interval, or notes distributed on the whole length of the keyboard.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprehends arelatively large number of movable members placed in front of the pianohammers and serving to move the same to a greater or less distance fromthe strings of the piano so as to reduce more or less their travel andconsequently the intensity of the sounds produced when striking thestrings. The invention also. comprehends an auxiliary key boardoperatively connected with said movable members which may vary in numberas required, whereby the performer instantly can actuate one or more ofsuch members either independently of one another or conjointly.

While any suitable power transmitting means may be employed forconnecting the key board with the movable expression members, preferablymechanical transmissions are to be used, that is to say transmissionscomposed exclusively of rigid or inextensible transmitting elements,which permit imparting. more readily to the movable expression membersmovements exactly proportional to those of the controlling elementscarried by the keyboard.

In the accompanying drawings illustrate ne embo im n HM i nt Figures 1and 2 are respectively a partial front elevation and a plan view of theinvention.

F g 3 is a vert cal e ti n a n. n, the

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

1915. Serial NO. 29,797.

line 33 of Fig. 4 showing the expression keyboard.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of such keyboard.

Fig. 5 represents such keyboard partly in elevation and partly insection, taken on line 55 of Fig. 4:.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of one of the movable expression members.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a modified form of the keyboard, and

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a modified form of movable expression memberand mounting thereof.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the expressionmembers 1 are mounted on a shaft 3 mounted in supports 4 on the upperface of the hammer rest rail 2, which is located behind the usualpianissimo rail 29, said members 1 being so mounted on the shaft 3 thatthey may swing forwardly or rearwardly. Each member 1 is cam shaped theactive face of which is curved and projects toward the hammers 5, suchface being covered with felt; the members 1 are subjected to the actionofa spiral spring 6 mounted on shaft 3 in such manner as to normallyhold the cam face against the hammers in such manner as to force thehammers near the piano strings, so that weak sounds only will then beproduced when the hammers are actuated.

Each member 1 is pulled in the direction of the arrow C (Fig. 7) bymeans of'a steel ribbon or tape 7 which is attached at one end to astepped pulley 8 rotatably mounted on the front face of the rail 2, theother end of said ribbon being secured to the inactive part of the camshaped member 1. Rotary movement is given to the stepped pulley 8 byanother steel tape or ribbon 9, one end of which is secured to theperiphery of the smaller step of such pulley, the ribbons 9 thenextending along the front of the rail 2 to and around idler rollers 10grouped together thence downwardly and around another group of idlerrollers 11 beneath the keyboard of the piano, then passing horizontallyto the expression keyboard 15 then passing and engaging other idlerrollers 11 12 and'12 and finally'attached at their other end to thecross bar 13. As all the rollers 10 and 11 are arranged in a groupfollowing closely a vertical line, the ribbons 9 form together a clusterof relatively slight width whereby they can easily be located across themechanism of the piano.

The expression keyboard comprises a plate 14: which is secured beneaththe keybed 15 and carries a frame 16 in which are mounted the rollers 12(see Fig. 3); the frame 16 also carries lugs 17, 18 which serve tosupport rigidly two lateral arms 21 by means of studs 19, 20; to thearms 21 is jointed at 22 a yoke 23 which carries the cross bar 13 whichlies in front of, and below the keyboard of the piano. On the arms 21are secured the curved ends of a flexible strip or plate 24: whichextends transversely across the steel ribbons 9 and above the same.

A series of keys 25 having fork shaped or bifurcated rear ends arepivotallymounted on the studs 20, the forked or bifurcated end of a keystraddling a ribbon 9.

The parts of the ex ression keyboard are so arranged that a per ormercan easily press on the keys 25 and on the flexible strip or plate 24with his fingers and upon the trans verse member of the yoke 23 with thepalm of the hand. If a single key is lowered the lowering of thecorresponding ribbon 9 causes the corresponding member 1 to move to anextent roportional to the lowering of the key. f required, several keyscan be lowered simultaneously, the same or different distances, as forinstance, to increase diflerently the different parts of a musicalselection.

When it is desired to increase the intensity of the sounds of a set ofnotes comprised in any one of several groups, the performer may lowereither a set of keys 25, or a greater or less portion of the flexiblestrip or plate 24, which will cause traction of a group of consecutiveribbons 9 moving the corresponding and correlated expression members 1.

Finally by lowering the yoke 23, the per former may produce a pullsimultaneously on all of the ribbons as they are attached to the crossbar 13, and hence will increase the intensity of the sounds of the notesproduced in the keyboard to the full extent of the other.

In effecting these different motions the performer will be guided,either by ear, if the piece of music is known, or by reading theperforated sheet. If, by mistake the performer does not act on the partof the keyboard corresponding to a determined note which must be struckby one of the hammers, such mistake will be noticed because there is noreaction when the hammer moves away from the string; for since thehammers each time the move away from the strings impinge against or comein contact with the respective members 1 connected to the ribbons 9, anyreaction will be transmitted, by the ribbons to the expression keyboardand so be perceptible to the fingers located above the correspondingpoints.

The expression keyboard mechanism herein shown is so fitted as to befolded underneath the keyboard 15, and to accomplish this horizontalslots 26 are provided in the arms 21 to permit a horizontal slidingmovement of the studs 20 by means of which the arms 21 can be pulledoutwardly and out of connection with the studs 19, and then lowered inthe direction of the arrow D (Fig. 3.) The effect of such movement is tosimultaneously pull on all the steel ribbons or tapes 9 and thereforecause all the members 1 to swing upwardly and forwardly to a verticalposition as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 7, so that the pianissimorail 2 can be then made use of in the usual manner.

The modified form of keyboard shown in Fig. 8 differs from the one justdescribed in that the keys of the former are replaced by a very flexiblestrip 25 which renders the fingering much easier and also allows theribbons or tapes to be brought closer together, and hence the width ofthe expression keyboard reduced. A fabric or felt band 27 is preferablyinterposed between the blades 25 2 1, and ribbons 9 in order to avoidthe noise and transverse slipping of the ribbons against the deflectedportions of the strips 25 And such slipping is further guarded againstby means of projections or lugs 28, located on the band 27 at the frontof the spaces between the ribbons.

In the modified form of expression members shown in Fig. 9, the memberconsists of a roller 1 made of felt or other suitable material, somounted as to revolve freely in a swinging frame 1' the latter beingactuated in the same manner as the member 1 shown in the other figuresof the drawing.

The mechanism hereinbefore described may be further simplified byeliminating the ribbons 7, and the ribbons 9 can extend to and beconnected. directly to the expression member 1. The arrangementdescribed is advantageous on account of its compactness.

lVe claimed on said support, a yoke jointed to said arms, flexibleconnections having one end secured to such yoke and the opposite endoperatively connected with a movable member whereby a swinging motion ofthe yoke actuates all of said movable members simultaneously, and a setof keyboard levers jointed on one of said studs adapted for pressing onsaid flexible connections respectively, whereby each movable member maybe actuated independently of the others.

2. A device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, comprising aplurality of movable members positioned in such a way that the hammersare between them and the piano strings and adapted for limiting thetravel of said hammers, an auxiliary keyboard including levers the samein number as that of the movable members, flexible connecting elementslocated beneath such levers and operatively connected with said movablemembers, and at least one flexible strip located on the keyboard anddisposed transversely above said flexible connections, adapted to belowered by the finger against said connections to actuate varyingnumbers thereof according to the amount of depression of the transverseflexible means.

3. Mechanism for producing expression in mechanical pianos comprising incombination a plurality of movable members positioned in such a way thatthe hammers are between them and the piano strings and adapted forlimiting the travel of said hammers, a plurality of tapes or ribbonsoperatively connected at one end to said movable members, means fordepressing said ribbons individually, means for depressingsimultaneously a plurality of said ribbons, and means for simultaneouslydepressing all of the ribbons.

at. In a device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, thecombination with a support, of studs mounted on said sup port, slottedarms slidably and rotatably mounted on said studs, means for maintainingsaid arms in front of said support when in a substantially horizontalposition, a plurality of movable members positioned in such a way thatthe hammers are between them and the piano strings and adapted forlimiting the travel of said hammers, a yoke jointed to said arms, aplurality of ribbons or tapes attached at one end to said yoke,extending parallel above said studs and substantially horizontal whenthe aforesaid arms are in a horizontal position and connected at theother end to said movable members, means mounted on said studs and onsaid arms causing longitudinal movement of said ribbons, said arms andyoke mounted to permit a pendent position thereof and of that portion ofthe ribbons attached to the said yoke, when said arms are lowered, meansfor depressing one ribbon, means for depressing a plurality of saidribbons and means for depressing all the ribbons, the function of saidribbons being to actuate the movable members.

5. In a device for producing expression in mechanical pianos, thecombination with the hammer rest rail of the piano, of a plurality ofspring-controlled movable members pivotally mounted on said rail andadapted for limiting the travel of the hammers, said members having apulley shaped portion, ribbons or tapes having an end secured to thepulley shaped portion of the movable members, a support, studs mountedon said support, a series of keys pivotally mounted on said studs andadapted to move said tapes longitudinally, and pulleys on said hammerrest rail guiding said ribbons from! said members to said keys.

6. In expression mechanism for mechanical pianos, in combination aseries of movable members adapted for limiting the travel of thehammers, a support, studs mounted on said support, a series of keyspivotally mounted on said studs, a series of transmission membersconnected at one end respectively to said movable members, arranged in atransverse row, connected at one end to said movable members, adaptedfor actuating them, connected at the other end to said keys, a flexiblestrip extending transversely of and above the row of transmissionmembers, said fl xible strip adapted to be deflected at differentportions of its length and thereby actuate the transmission membersrespectively placed therebelow.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention, we havesigned our names in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CAMILLE CONTAL. EDOUARD REQUILLART.

Witnesses EUGiiNE WATTIER, DnlV. C. PooLn, J r.

